Revolving fire-arm



(No Model.) y ZSheets-Sheet 1.

` W. H. BELL, Sr. Revolving-Fire Arm.

Patented June 15, |880. l

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. H. BELLfSr. Revolvingfire Arm.

No. 228,859. Patented June'15, 1880.

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GRAPH WASHINGON, D, C.

' To all 'whom it may concern UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM II. BELL, sn., or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

REVOLVING Fl RE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,859, dated June 15,1880.

Application tiled April 15, 1880. (No model.)

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. BELL, Sr., of Baltimore, in the'county ofBaltimore and State of Maryland, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Shell-Extractors for Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The invention relates to devices for ejecting shells'of cartridges fromthe chambers of revolving fire-arms, and has for its object the ejectingof shells with the least possible iuconvenience and in such a manner asto be y*almost automatic. v I

The invention consist-s, essentially, of a plunger-rod or ejectorconnected to a lever, so

,that the act of pushing the rod into the chamber will cause the leverto revolve the cylinder-in such 'a manner as to l bring each chambersuccessively in line with said rod.

It consists, also, of details of construction hereinafter fullyexplained.

In the drawings hereunto annexed, and form-V ing part of thisspecification, Figure 1, Sheet 1, shows a side elevation of a revolvereml bracing my improvement.- Fig. 2, Sheet 1, is

sps

a view of the under side, showing the lever .in position.- Fig. 3, Sheet1, represents -the lever detached, with pawl and spring attached. Fig.4, Sheet 1, shows a section of Fig. 2 on line a: w. Fig. 5, Sheet 1,represents portion of barrel andtube, showing the dovetailed groove andmanner of inserting the tube. Fig. 6, Sheet 1, view of the pawl. Fig. 7,Sheet 1, represents the springfor forcing pawl into position; Fig. 8,Sheet 1, front of cylinders with notches, in which the pawl'en gages.Fig. 9, Sheet 1, is a modication showing notches cut on outside or outeredge ofthe cylinder; Fig. 10, Sheet 2, a modiication in which theleverage is obtained by means of the central rod, on which the cylinderrevolves. Fig. 11, Sheet 2, represents a section throughV the cylinderand central rod, showing the pawl and notches in cylinder, also thesteadylng-post on which the-flnger-piece slides up and down.' Fig. 12,Sheet 2, is a section of the central rod just in front of cylinder,showing notches and manner in which the pawl engages with the same. Fig.13, Sheet 2,

which the iinger-piece lies against the barrel.

The .lever B is represented as attached by means of a screw, B', to atube, B, in which the rod A plays back and forth, or it can be attachedto a stud on the side of the barrel F, and it is so arranged that whenthe upper end is lifted the lower portion next to the cylinder becomesdepressed. On'this lower end is placed a pawl, b, which plays freely,and is heldin place-by a screw or pin. A spring, b, bears against thispawl and keepsit pressed against the front of the cylinder E.

The lever B is provided with a slot, c, which extendsin a straight line,nearly to the lower end, the required distance, and at the upper itdiverges at an angle of about forty-five degrees. Into this slot isinserted a pin or screw, U", extending through and attached to the rodA-or finger-piece a, as shown clearly iu Fig. 4. This pin must playfreely, so that it can follow the slot in the lever.

l On the front of the cylinder is cut the required number of notches, c,in which the pawl b engages for revolving the said cylinder.

Ihe tube B", in which the rod plays, is attached to the barrel F bymeans of va dovetailed groove, D, extending along the side of thebarrel, a dovetail being formed on the tube B to correspond with thegroove. It is inserted at the top and pushed down,.as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 5, and when far enough it is retained in position by meansof a screw or pin through the side, or it can be held in place by aspring, so as to be attached or detached instantly. The length andinclination of the diverging slot are proportioned to the length of thearms of the lever, so that the movement of the -pin carried by thesliding ejector-rod shall turn the cylinder just enough to bring theproper chamber into line with the said ejector-rod.

The operation of this ejector is as. follows: Supposin g the chambers tobeiilied with'empty shells, the pistol being at half-cock, they operatortakes hold of the finger-piece with the finger and thumb and pulls itdown toward the IOO l cylinder. The iirst effect of this movement is 'tocause the screw or pin in the slot to move gaged with one of the notchesin the cylinder causes it to revolve.' Just at this point ther rodenters the chamber, and the pin, now following the straight part oftheslot, ceases to turn the cylinder and allows the rod to continue onthrough Ythe chamber Y until theshelll is pushed out. The nger-piece',4being pushedf up in its place again, causes the lever to vre` turn toits first position, permitting the pawl to become engaged with thesucceeding notch in face of the cylinder, and so on until all the shellsare ejected. can be ejected in a second, and the device is renderednearly as eificient as if automatic.

will miss a shell, from the fact that the point of the rod enters thefront of the chamber the instant it is opposite, thereby locking it andpreventing any further revolution until theoperation is repeated.

If necessary, a. spring can be used to drive the rod back, but'thedevice can be used wi-thout it with great facility.

The lever may be placed on the side andthe lower end constructed withthe pawl or spring to catch in notches cut on the side or outer edge ofthe cylinder, as shown in lFig. 9.

It is evident that the nearer the cylinder' the screw on which the leverplays is placedV the greater the leverage, and there can be a series ofholes made in the lever with correspondingones in the barrel or tube, sothat; the leverage canv be regulated without altering l the position ofthe lever.

This arrangement can be applied to all revolvers now having the plungerattached with l a very small outlay, or can be manufactured.

complete at comparatively small cost.

'In the modification shown in Sheet 2, I use? the central pivoted rod,on which the cylinder revolves, as a medium of leverage for re-volvingthe cylinder. Ihe upper portion is madeI tubular, while the part runningthrough thel cylinder is solid, and into this tube is iitted a steadyingrod, k, which extends out and through the top and forms a pivot, onwhich the central rod turns. The finger-piece slides up and down on thissteadying-rod.

In the side of the central pivotal rod, in the tubular part thereof, isa slot inclined at its upper end, as shown at l. The finger-piece mextends through this slot and embraces the rod k, or a pin can passthrough the iingerpiece and be attached to the collarn, that slides Thewhole number of shells i freely on this central rod, and theejccting-rod is fastened to the nger-'piece m directly opposite thechamber next to the barrel, and is supported in proper guide o. When thefinger-piece is pushed down this rod enters the chamber and passesthrough and out at the rear, thereby ejecting -the shell.

' On the central rod, which passes through Vthe cylinder, and on whichit revolves, is placed stantially the same as that of the form shownheretofore.

However quickly the operation is performed, r vit is impossible to turnthe cylinder so that it;

cylinder, causes the cylinder -to revolve andthe chambers to stop inline with the ejector at the point where the rod enters the chamber, andwhile the `finger-piece follows the straight lslot the ejector willtravel through the chamber far enough to eject the shell and return tothe point where the slot inclines without further movement of thecylinder; but when it comes in contact with the inclined portion of thesl-ot the central rod is turned back and the pawl .is brought intoengagement with the next notch in the cylinder, and the operation may berepeated until all the shells are ejected.

This whole arrangement vlcan be covered, leavingonly the nger-,pieceexposed, making 1t very compact.

A spiral spring, g, can be used, if necessary, as shown in Fig. 11, toreturn the finger-piece to its proper position.

Having thus described my invention,.what' pawl-and-ratchet connection,whereby the cylinder is rotated and the shell same movement of the rod.

In testimony whereof I'have signed my name tothis specification in thepresence oi' two ejected by the subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. BELL, SR.

Witnesses FRANK MIDDLE'roN, C. N'. A'rwoon.

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